


Don't Replace Me

by CastielFollowMe



Series: The Voltron Actor AU [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor!AU, Alternate Universe - Actors, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 14:58:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14979617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Keith accidentally injuries himself on set and worries that now he has to work even harder than before to keep up with his fellow casemates and crew.





	Don't Replace Me

When Keith is hurt, everyone freaks the fuck out.

  
Even Keith.

  
The day that Keith had hurt himself on set, was a day like any other. They were just beginning to film the second season of Voltron after the ginormous success and reaction to season one. Everyone was more excited and more pumped to be back on set after a nice month long break. Everyone enjoyed their mini vacations and had fun at several conventions to meet fans, including Keith’s first convention (it had gone smoother than he anticipated). However, everyone was itching to get back on set and start filming together.

  
Even after only a year with these people, Keith had grown very close and very personal to each of them, cast and crew. But especially the cast. These were a group of people that Keith felt a connection to that he had never felt before and found himself growing more and more fond of them. There were still days that Keith felt overwhelmed and had to find his own little hiding spot in order to calm down and just get away. He was improving but he was frustrated that he still got nervous and anxious when there were too many people on set.

  
However, after Keith’s little panic attack before SDCC, each member of the cast had taken to watching Keith closely and helping him when things got too much. Shiro usually was the one to talk to him instead of a whole table of producers when they wanted him to change his acting style or to redo a scene. Lance usually was the one to take Keith out for lunch or dinner after filming in order to wind down after a long day. Hunk and Keith often remained on set playing games on their phone or with Hunk showing Keith a few magic tricks. Allura often found Keith in the personal gym and the two would vent after a long day while boxing. Coran often was the quietest but helped to remind Keith to stay hydrated or tricks to remembering his lines. Pidge was extremely helpful because they were the one to help Keith find his own little hiding spot to get away from everyone on set.

  
He was so grateful when they understood that Keith still needed his space and were more than happy to let Keith get away alone, without feeling lonely.  
But when Keith had gotten hurt, it was as if time stopped for everyone.  
It had been a long, long day of filming and it was only day two. They’d been filming during most of the day and well into the night and by three in the morning everyone was more than a little tired. Pidge already had an entire album on their phone called, “People Keith has Fallen Asleep Onset 2K16.”

  
Keith did not know about this album.

  
They were currently on the last scene before calling it a wrap. All they had to do was have Shiro and Keith say their lines, Keith would dramatically backflip (like a badass Boss according to Lance) off a moving asteroid and they would cut to the next scene and call it a day. Looking around, Shiro could see the exhaustion in everyone’s eyes, cast and crew, and he could feel the tiredness down to his own bones. He was more than ready to simply fall headfirst into the bed in his trailer and sleep for days and he was sure his friends felt the same way.  
Shiro didn’t realize that this scene would go horribly wrong until after it was ended.

  
Keith felt his body sway with exhaustion and fought the urge to yawn, thankful that the camera was on Shiro as he said his lines, for a second longer. Even exhausted Keith couldn’t help but admire how easily Shiro was able to hide his exhaustion and play into the role of the Black Paladin without fault.

In a second Keith knew the camera was on him, and he said his lines with just as much passion (but if you asked him what he was saying, he couldn’t tell you exactly as his mind was in a fog) and he felt the “asteroid” – which was read a green ball – under him move. Keith made the mistake of tensing due to his exhaustion before hesitating for a split second into jumping in his back flip. The hesitation was just enough to make it all go wrong. When Keith’s felt his feet touch the ground, his right leg hit much too hard and he could feel it bend in an unnatural way. Only he could hear the tiny snap and his legs wobbled for a second.

  
Gritting his teeth through a new burning pain that was crawling up his leg from his ankle, he remained upright and tall. Keith winced, glade for a moment that their visors were on their helmets so no one would be able to see his face, and he could feel a slight tremble in his leg from the growing pain in his ankle. Keith held his breath in anticipation.

  
“CUT! And that’s it guys, good job. Go home. Get some sleep.”

  
That was all Keith needed to hear before his legs gave out from under him and Keith squeezed his eyes shut due to the pain. He curled up on his side, keeping his injured ankle close to his chest and tried to take deep breaths.

  
“Keith? Keith?! Hey, what’s happening buddy?”

  
“Keith?!”

  
Keith barely heard Lance and Shiro over the blood pounding in his ears and the pain throbbing up his leg. He heard multiple footsteps coming towards him but at the moment Keith was more focused on trying not to cry from the amount of pain he was in. He felt gentle (very, very gentle) hands on his shoulder, trying to ease him into a sitting position. Luckily, everyone was mindful on both Keith’s legs.

  
“Keith, what’s happening?! What’s going on man? Do you need help? Should we call an ambulance? Do we need to get a medic? Do we have a medic on set?! Is it your head? You knee? Breathe, Keith. It’s okay. It’s okay, do you hear me?” Keith wanted to laugh at Lance’s nervous rambling, he really did but the blinding white pain made that hard for him to do.

  
“Lance stop. Calm down.” Shiro, of course as the voice of reason, chided softly.

  
“Come with me Lance. Let’s get the paramedics here.” Coran gently coaxed the nervous Lance away from Keith’s side to drag him away. His panicking meant that he cared for Keith but right now Keith didn’t need someone else panicking that much.

  
“Keith, is it your ankle? Did you land on it wrong?” Shiro asked softly and when Keith managed to open his eyes he could see Shiro kneeling right next to him, hands on his shoulder and with a look of concern on his face. With his jaw clenched, Keith nodded and Shiro helped to pull the helmet off Keith’s head. Shiro’s heart ached at how much pain Keith was in, now that Shiro could see his face properly.

  
“Yes. Hurts. Burns.” Keith managed through gritted teeth. His fingers clenched tightly against the boot on his leg. “Landed on it wrong, I think.” Shiro nodded calmly taking a look down at Keith’s leg.

  
“Okay buddy, Lance and Coran are getting the paramedics and then we’ll get you to a hospital.” Keith’s heart raced at the commotion and thought of having to be transported to the hospital but his leg throbbed painfully. “Keith we’re going to have to take off your boot, so the paramedics can assess how bad. Do you want me to take it off?” Keith swallowed thickly knowing how bad that was likely to hurt (hence why Shiro was asking him) due to past experience. So with a jaw clenched, Keith nodded.

  
Only to fall unconscious when a tug against his ankle, which made his vision turn white and the pain became unbearable.

  
x.V.x

  
“I’d advise that he takes it easy for the next six weeks, in order for the bones to fully heal.”

  
“Six weeks?”

  
“Maybe five if he really takes it easy and rests. Ankle fractures are delicate things and need time to heal.” The doctor replied as he finished collecting the crutches from the nurse and handing them to Keith who was sitting solemnly on the bed. Shiro, Lance and a producer were the only ones in the hospital room at the moment, with everyone else waiting on standby from a call from either of them. Allura had threatened both Shiro and Lance that she’d better hear from them about their Keith within an hour or there would be hell to pay. Shiro and Lance both shuddered at the threat.

  
“Hm, I suppose he can do several scenes in the cock pit where he’s sitting. We can easily hide the cast under the camera shot. Maybe we can do a few upper body scenes.” The producer sighed tiredly and rubbed a hand across his face. Immediately, Keith shrunk into himself out of guilt.

  
“No way, didn’t you hear the doctor?” Lance rolled his eyes while Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. “He said for Keith to take it easy, not continue with filming.”

  
“Lance is right. We can’t make Keith stand on one leg or lean against something for hours when he should be in a bed resting.” Shiro agreed with a firm nod and arms crossed over his chest. Keith sunk further and further into himself.

  
“We can’t afford Keith to stop filming completely. We’re on a tight schedule and this is only the second day.” The producer tried to argue.

  
“I – I can still w – work.” Keith stammered quietly, causing the three other men in the room to look at him in surprise. He forced himself not to flinch at each of their looks.

  
“Keith…” Shiro sighed.

  
“S – Shiro this is nothing. I’ve – I’ve had worse, believe me.” Keith stomach twisted at the pained expression on Shiro’s face when Keith said this. That’s not what I wanted to hear. “I – I can just s – sit a lot. Like Renner said. A – And I’ll take lots of breaks and stop if it gets too m- much. I – I promise.” Keith whispered softly, unable to look into Shiro or Lance’s concerned eyes. Lance huffed out of worry while Shiro swallowed.

  
“Keith, a broken ankle is no joke!” Lance began only to be cut off by a flustered Keith.

  
“I – I know! I promise I’m not messing, I -I’ll take care of myself but Renner’s right. W – We can’t let the fans down by stopping all filming for so long.” Keith pleaded, eyes big and wide and Lance and Shiro both knew they were screwed. They’d fallen victim to the threat that was known as Keith’s big, beautiful puppy dog eyes, more times than they could count.

  
“Fine. But please stop if it gets too much.” Shiro’s shoulders finally sagged in relief.

  
Keith’s blinding smile was almost worth it. “I promise!”

  
Keith managed a whole month before the breakdown happened. If everyone looked back it was actually unavoidable, and destined to happen at the rate they were working at. Everyone tried to accommodate Keith and help him during his recovery and he was beyond surprised everyday by how much everyone was willing to help him out. Sure when he’d gotten hurt before on sets people were nice, helped him out, but no one ever went to the lengths that these people went to.

  
Lance was never more than two steps behind Keith. He was always asking if Keith was in any pain or needed anything, though whenever Keith actually did need something, Lance would force Hunk or someone else to get if for them. He’d also might have, sort of, maybe stolen Keith’s crutches more than once in order to hobble around on them.

  
Keith didn’t mind though.

  
Keith was surprised more often than not, these days, with giant hugs from Hunk. Hunk would physically wrap both arms around Keith’s entire little body, from behind, before lifting Keith at least a foot in the air and pressing him against his chest. These “Healing Hugs” (as he called them) made Keith laugh even on his most stressful days.

  
Keith now had an entire collection of cat videos and memes (mostly bad photoshop edits of Lance) on his phone from Pidge when the two would sit together during breaks. His snapchat was also now full of pictures of him and Pidge with several of the filters found in the app, much to their fans enjoyment. Keith normally wasn’t much of a snapchat user on his own, so his fans were happy to see some life into his account.

  
Allura made sure that Keith always had a snack on him or a bottle of water, causing him to become flustered in front of everyone. Lance once tried to joke that Allura was mother henning Keith, but was stopped with a roundhouse kick to his gut.

  
Keith gave her a thumbs up.

  
However, even with everyone helping and supporting Keith he still found himself getting more and more overwhelmed. He’d nearly fallen into a panic attack at least four times since breaking his ankle, when no one was around. Keith’s stuttering was starting to make a full comeback, much to everyone’s worry. It was all due to the pace that everyone was working at. They were struggling to keep somewhat on schedule due to Keith’s injury and keep from falling behind but it was taking a toll on everyone. Keith especially.

  
“What if we get a stunt double? That way he could be a stand-in, do the stunts and we’ll keep the Red Paladin far in shots so no one will see his face. Keith can read lines or just do the close ups until his cast is off.” A tired producer suggested one day during the middle of filming.

  
Keith was seated in the chair onset of the Red Lion’s cockpit while the others were off camera watching. Writers, directors and producers had momentarily stopped filming in order to start discussing the future and with each suggestion Keith’s stomach was twisting in painful knots. He rubbed his hands together, feeling the sweat pool in his palms under his gloves and his lips were slowly drying out. He tried to respond, saying that he was okay to keep going, but all that came out was a tiny squeak.

  
“That might be best. Maybe we can even cut down on the lines for the Red Paladin so Keith doesn’t have to be here every day.”

  
Keith’s heartbeat was racing by now and there was a lump forming in his throat.  _No, please don’t replace me._

  
“That could work. We have plenty of guys on standby with Keith’s build and physiology.”

  
Keith could feel a stinging behind his eyes and his breathing was slowly becoming shallow.

  
“There’s no need to bring in a stunt double. Keith has never needed one before and he doesn’t now. He might not be comfortable bringing one in.” Allura suddenly interrupted with a frown. Keith’s eyes still burned and he could barely make a noise.  _No, no, no. This can’t be happening._

  
“We can’t wait for a full recovery.”

  
“Keith wouldn’t be comfortable and neither would any of us with a new stunt guy.” Lance added sharply. “We have a dynamic going here and it would get messed up with a new guy.” No one noticed as Keith’s breathing became more and more labored.

  
“Lance, this can’t be up for discussion. I don’t want to do this but we have to think about our time frame here.” Keith’s heart lurched in his chest.  _No, please no._

  
“With all due respect, we’d rather just keeping working with Keith. Maybe if you explained it to the fan’s they’d understand that we’re missing a leg and an arm at the moment.”

  
“Shiro.”

  
“Look, I’m sorry but right now this is the best thing to do. Maybe when we settle down we can have a conference and let the fans know it might take some time.” The finality in the producer’s voice was the last leg to the dam and the floodgates were opened.

  
It was the wail that startled everyone.

  
Shiro and the others jumped at the sound of the cry, hearts aching and minds racing. To everyone’s horror Keith was curled up in his chair, arms wrapped around his body and shoulders shaking with loud, heartbreaking sobs.

  
“Keith?!” Lance nearly screeched before he and the other cast members were racing to Keith’s side. The crew was smart enough to stay behind.

  
Keith merely broke into a new set of sobs, big fat tears racing down his cheeks, when they gathered around him. His body was shaking harshly and his breathing was coming out in short pained gasps.

  
“Keith, Keith, calm down. What happened? Does your leg hurt?” Hunk tried to rub Keith’s back in a soothing manner, only to cause a fresh set of tears to fall from Keith’s eyes. Keith’s cries were like nails digging into everyone’s hearts.  
No one had ever seen Keith cry before. Sure, the cast had seen a couple of panic attacks and fear in Keith before. Lance and Pidge had both cried on set after emotional scenes and even Shiro had cried once when he was surprised with a visit from his parents on set. But no one had ever witnessed little Keith cry.

  
“Did you hit your leg? Do you need ice? Should I show you some more memes of Lance’s ugly face?” Pidge nervously asked, shifting from side to side. They’d never admit it out loud but they were sensitive to others when they cried, especially sweet cinnamon rolls like Keith.

  
“Hey, what kind of pictures of me are you showing Keith?” Lance frowned but jumped when Keith sobbed even louder than before, trying to bury his face in his hands.

  
“That’s enough.” Shiro’s voice left no room for argument and everyone meekly nodded.

  
Allura was quick to kneel in front of Keith and placed her hands on Keith’s cheek. She tried not to jump when Keith clung tightly to her hands, unable to stop crying. “Keith, hey, I’m going to need you to calm down. I need you to take some deep breaths. Once again, remember? In and out. Deep breaths.” It took several times for Keith to try and follow her breathing, often having to stop when a fresh set of tears escaped from him. His throat was tight and he could barely feel like he could breathe.

  
“There you go. Deep breaths. Keep breathing, just like that. Very good Keith.” Allura said softly, as she gently stroked Keith’s hands on his cheek under hers. Keith hiccupped waterly, embarrassed that his face was most likely covered in tears and snot and were red.

  
Keith continued to hiccup and blubber a combination of English, Korean and probably random noises while everyone else tried to get a comforting hand on Keith. Allura continued to stroke his hands and cheeks. Hunk was massaging Keith’s shoulders, wincing at how tense they must have been for days. Lance was rubbing awkward soothing circles into Keith’s messy hair. Pidge had their cheek smushed up against Keith’s shoulder while Shiro placed a comforting hand on Keith’s thigh.

  
Eventually Keith managed to calm down to minimal tears and slight hiccups.

  
“There, all better?” Allura smiled weakly when Keith sniffled and nodded.

“Wanna tell us what that was all about?” Keith simply shrugged unsure that if he spoke, he wouldn’t start crying again. The group patiently waiting” in silence before Keith shakily tried to wipe his face.

  
“S-Sorry.” Keith finally muttered, ears red with embarrassment.

  
“There’s no need to apologize but you had us all worried there.” Lance tried to smile shakily but he was more than just a little worried after the recent events. “What’s going on in that little brain of yours?”

  
“A – Ah it’s e – embarrassing.” Keith fiddled with his thumbs as a few more tears leaked from his eyes.

  
“Well, something is obviously bothering you. We just wanna help.” Pidge mumbled, still pressed against Keith’s shoulder.

  
“I – I just don’t wanna be replaced.” Keith said so quietly that his friends had to strain to hear. The group shared a look with one another, full of grief and guilt until their eyes brightened. Keith had less than a second before he was nearly thrown off his chair by having everyone glomp on him. He felt at least five sets of arms wrapping him up in one giant hug and smushing his body against everyone’s. He blinked for a moment in confusion. Slowly, he felt his tears dry up upon hearing the soft coos from everyone and his heartbeat was slowly down while a new warmth filled his chest.

  
Then a smile broke out on Keith’s face.

  
“No one could ever replace you Keith. You’re here to stay!”

  
And Keith finally laughed for the first time in weeks.


End file.
